basketballfandomcom-20200223-history
Vanderbilt Commodores
The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have won three SEC regular season titles (1965, 1974 and 1993). They have competed in ten NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once (1965) and the Sweet 16 six times (1965, 1974, 1988, 1993, 2004, and 2007). Vanderbilt has played in nine National Invitation Tournaments, winning it in 1990 and finishing runners-up in 1994. Kevin Stallings is the current head coach of the Commodores. Memorial Gymnasium The Commodores play their home games in Memorial Gymnasium. Memorial Gymnasium was built in the early 1950s. It was dedicated as the campus memorial to students and alumni killed in World War II; a plaque commemorating those who died is displayed in the Gym's North lobby. At the time of the Gym's construction, there was a serious discussion within the Vanderbilt community about whether the school should de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics and refocus on its academic program. As a compromise between those who advocated increased athletics competition and those who argued in favor of de-emphasis, the Gymnasium was built to hold only about 9,000 seats, and it would be readily adaptable to other uses—significantly, as a possible concert hall. Consequently, the gymnasium floor was built up above its surroundings, more in the nature of a stage. The areas out of bounds along the sidelines were very wide, in contrast with the small facility which it replaced, where the walls were right along the sidelines and players could scrape their shoulders bringing the ball up the court. This necessitated the placement of the benches at the end of the court, which was not highly unusual at the time. In addition, each goal was anchored by two far-reaching beams attached to support columns, with extra support coming from cables stretching all the way to the gym's ceiling. In the case of a backboard shatter or beam fracture, replacing these goals would be highly difficult, compared to the usual goal setup at most venues. Memorial Gym is well-known for its unusual design. The end-of-the-floor bench location is now unique in major college basketball, and SEC coaches who travel to Memorial, along with coaches from other schools who have played at Vanderbilt as a post-season venue, have said that the unusual setup gives Vanderbilt a tremendous home court advantage, since no other facility in which opponents play is arranged in such a way. Year-by-year season records Note: Fansonly.com reports Vanderbilt's overall record in 1937-38 as 9-12, while SECSports.com reports it as 10-11. Source: Soconsports.com Source: SECSports.com Source: Fansonly.com Retired numbers Only two male Commodores have had their jerseys retired by the university: *Clyde Lee #43 - Lee was perhaps the greatest player in Commodore history. He averaged the most points per game in school history and the balconies on the south end of Memorial Gymnasium are commonly referred to as the "balconies that Clyde built". *Perry Wallace #25 - The first African-American scholarship athlete in the Southeastern Conference. Consecutive games with a 3-point field goal Vanderbilt is one of only three teams to make a 3-point field goal in every game since the rule was implemented in the 1986-87 season. The other two teams to do so are Princeton and UNLV. As of halfway though the 2010-11 season, the Commodores have made a 3-point shot in 792 consecutive games. All-Americans *Shan Foster- 2008 *Dan Langhi- 2004 *Billy McCaffrey- 1993 and 1994 *Will Perdue- 1988 *Tom Hagan- 1969 *Clyde Lee- 1966 *Billy Joe Adcock- 1950 Source: VUCommodores.com SEC Players of the Year *Shan Foster - 2008 (consensus) *Derrick Byars - 2007 (SEC coaches) *Dan Langhi - 2000 (consensus, but shared AP award) *Billy McCaffrey - 1993 (shared AP award) *Will Perdue - 1988 (consensus) *Jan van Breda Kolff - 1974 (consensus) *Clyde Lee- 1965 (consensus) and 1966 (UPI) Source: VUCommodores.com Academic All-Americans *Jeff Fosnes - 1975, 1976 *Bruce Elder - 1993 Olympians *Jeff Turner- won the gold medal in men's basketball as a member of Team USA at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=moly_1984 Coaching awards *Kevin Stallings- SEC Coach of the Year 2007, SEC Coach of the Year 2010 www.secsports.com *Eddie Fogler- 1993 National Coach of the Year by AP, UPI, CBS, USBWA, Scripps-Howard, Sports lllustrated, Sporting News, Basketball Weekly *C. M. Newton- SEC Coach of the Year, 1988 & 1989 *Wayne Dobbs- SEC Coach of the Year, 1979 *Roy Skinner- SEC Coach of the Year, 1965, 1967, 1974 & 1976 All-time leaders Points Points per game (min 50 games) Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks Source: 2007-08 Vanderbilt Commodores Media Guide References See also *Derrick Byars *Jeff Fosnes *Bruce Elder *Shan Foster *Matt Freije *Jan van Breda Kolff *Frank Kornet *Dan Langhi *Clyde Lee *Billy McCaffrey *Will Perdue *Kevin Stallings *Jeff Turner *Vanderbilt Commodores football *Vanderbilt University *Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball Conference membership history *Southeastern Conference (1933-present) External links *School website *Official athletics website *VandySports.com mbb message board, wbb message board Category:NCAA Division I schools Category:Southeastern Conference members Category:Schools in Tennessee Category:NCAA Division I schools Category:SEC East Division members